A lonely boy.
A brave girl.
A lightening strike.
A small wooden box.
A old book.
A dream of wolves.
I'm not even going to tell you how all these things tie together because the joy in this book, as in Selznick's previous book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, is the figuring out how the story lines are going to tie together. I read Wonderstruck in a sitting and a half, in awe and suspense. It's such a pleasure to pick up a book like this, where our main character is discovering his own history with the few clues he can find. I also love the format - where the text turns into full-page illustrations that tell the story until the text picks back up again.
It's not perfect. I think my friend Book Nut is right, that this format wasn't actually necessary for this type of story, but I think it wouldn't have been as GOOD of a story if it was told in a different way. My expectations were a little high because I had so enjoyed Hugo Cabret and truthfully, I liked the mystery in Hugo Cabret a little better since it felt so almost otherwordly and this story felt more grounded, but that didn't stop me from loving it.
If you like museums or friendship or trying to figure out a mystery, I very much encourage you to pick this one up. And find a comfy spot where you can enjoy this treasure.
note: if you're interested in the content of the books I read, please go to http://ratedreads.com
2 comments:
This was my first experience with Selznick and I loved it. I saw the movie version of Hugo and want to read that book now.
I loved Hugo Cabret and really want to get around to reading this one...my TBR list is just too big. Glad to hear Wonderstruck is good.
Thanks for the review. :)
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